


That isn't Zero

by Deamiel



Category: Vampire Knight
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-21 14:10:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7390342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deamiel/pseuds/Deamiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuuki wanted to make it up to Zero. After long months of guilt eating away at her heart, she asked Kaname if they could return to Cross Academy. After finally returning she finds herself receiving more hate than the time she left. She was too late. Someone had taken the chance and become Zero's pillar of support. But evil was brewing in the shadows and Zero was the only one to help with his partner always by his side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A short lithe woman stood, shivering to the bone even when wearing a thick earthy brown fur jacket, recalling memories still freshly printed in her mind. She shook nervously, not being able to comprehend the future, as a taller more delicate man swiftly joined her side. His body standing intimately close, his gently fingers spread across her back, tracing invisible circles to calm her nerves. A cold breeze carded through the woman's silken rich auburn hair, reaching her lower waist, she loosened her shoulders giving a thankful smile to the male.

"Kan I'm scared…" The man simply pulled her waist and placed a careful kiss onto her forehead as if to console her. The taller man had a regal aura which matched with the woman's but his demanded respect from others, oozing hidden power and a distinguishable prim and proper posture. His icy cold hands moving upwards to massage her lower scalp. The woman's voice was light and airy with an undertone of kindness, a feature one would only find in a mother.

"I'm sure he will be nicer. If not I'll talk to him." His voice smoky in her ears making her chuckle, looking up to meet the man's eyes she saw the opulent deep cherry red orbs smile back at her while his lips twitched up.

"That's not the point of meeting him Kaname! Threatening him will not make him forgive me." Her mood now sullen with disappointment in herself she boldly wrapped her arms around the man's waist, breaking his conserved posture slightly.

"So are you guys gonna cuddle all day or are we gonna go in?" A loud voice spoke out only to receive a sharp glower, "or you guys can carry on. Yeah carry on." With nervous laugh the boy carded through his well-kept hair- they shimmered golden like the sands in the distant dunes of the Sahara. His eyes a brilliant blue like the clear Caribbean waters. By his feet where a few pieces of luggage, heavy as trucks but innocently small and deceiving.

"Aido has a point, let's go. I can't wait to meet father again!" The woman's now trembling with childish excitement, a trait Kaname loved her for, and she ran towards Aido and grabbed a two bags- trying very hard not to accidently fling the bags away amidst her eagerness- all while the two men protested with her carrying the bags.

"I'm not a kid! Right Akatsuki! Ruka?" The woman turned to the pair who were making their leisurely time to reach them. A taller man with ruffled pale citrus orange hair and steady syrupy honey eyes evaluating the situation- this was Akatsuki. Next to him was a shorter more petite woman with a small smile gracing her lips. Her beauty blessed by angels as her soft features charmed anyone. Her slightly wavy mid waist length hair was a light mahogany while her eyes glowed a delectable chocolatey brown- this was Ruka.

"A lady should not lose posture Yuuki-sama." Ruka reprimanded but a fleeting smile betrayed her advice. Yuuki would not have compared against Ruka with beauty but Yuuki's easy smiles and cheery attitude was what made everyone warm up to her.

"Let's go!" Aido groaned at the scene. "If we continue to argue we will never even place a foot into the school premises." Akatsuki's transparent honey eyes looked playfully at Aido and then their leader- Kaname Kuran.

"We seem to have an imposter. Aido just said something clever." An explosive complaint from Aido set everyone into a light chuckle- except for Yuuki who full heartedly laughed.

With all the laughs dying down the five made their way to the central building. A towering structure which would have sent tingles down everyone's spines at its juvenile age but now the chipped and dull stoney structure gave an eerie ambiance which complimented the shrivelled naked trees which had shed their leaves for autumn. A truly haunting sight.

At this time the sun dorm would be in their classes, and studiously concentrating on their professor, so the group made haste- not wanting to seen by chance from the windows- in reaching the main building and climbing some stairs overlooking the sturdy old bridge towards the Sun dormitories. Yuuki's eyes dilated as she unconsciously sieved through memories; some making her cry with happiness, some making her guilty and some made her fill with pride.

Reaching a pair of large doors Yuuki moved forward to be the one to knock. She lifted her hand ready to knock but hesitated, steeling herself for the coming events and reunions, she knocks quietly but it felt like the sound had echoed through the whole corridor- a chilling feeling washed over her.

"Come in." A tired voice replied and as she opened the door her 'father'- Kaien Cross- was looking through an avalanche of white papers haphazardly laying over his desk- a single shift in the air could have submerged the room in blinding whiteness.

"Zero Kiryuu if this is another prank I do-", the man stopped mid-sentence as he flicked his dim weary bleached yellow eyes up to his guest. Freezing up instantaneously his mouth opened and closed repeatedly in shock as his idle gears started to crank in his head.

"Yuuki?" The man tilted his head almost questioning his sanity, something with made Yuuki cringe.

"Yuuki!" He exclaimed coming to his senses. The man smiled gleefully jumping up from his seat and waving his hands and welcoming them into the room and guided them to three sofas.

"Father…" Yuuki looked guilty as her eyes shifted to Kaname who sat next to her. He was relaxed and was content in watching the reunion.

"Why didn't you give me a heads up!?" The man immediately turned on the faucets in his eyes as tears the size of waterfalls started to fall to the ground in abundance. Yuuki laughed with nostalgia, the way the chairman- Kaien Cross- reacted to her was the usual and warmth permitted through her chest allowing the bigger man to tackle her and engulf her into an enormous hug. His untidy cloudy ashen grey hair leaking out his ponytail tickled her cheeks making her chuckle out louder as she pushed him away lightly. Ruka and Akatsuki entered a quiet conversation of their own, not wanting to disturb the happenings around them, Aido however, who had settled himself on the right of Kaname and Yuuki on the left of Kaname, watched the interaction with a large grin.

"Where is Zero? My daughter is back home!" He leaped away from the hug and ran around the room, trying desperately to find his bearings. But instead of yelling into the intercom to call Zero he shrugged and mutter 'he'll come' and settled into a sofa in front of the group.

"You aren't going to call him?" Yuuki asked quietly looking at the floor almost cursing her open mouth for speaking her mind.

"Well, he should be here about this ti-", like an intricately arranged entrance the double doors of the office opened abruptly as two bodies entered and the chairman continued, "-me." The chairman threw his thumb behind him and everyone's eyes followed his gesture only to hold their breath at the sight.

One man panted heavily and the other smugly looked at the other while both pushed their palms to block the door they had just slammed open, their backs to the other beings in the room with them.

"You think he will kill us?" The voice deep and gruff as he spat out the words in the middle of his grasps. The other man turned with an over-confident smirk reigning his visage as he leaned against the door not winded like the other man. Coolly he grazed at his watch on his wrist as let out a snort.

"Darling he'll have to walk over my dead body to even breathe the same air as you." The man flirtatious winked at the other. When everyone looked at him they let in an inconspicuous lungful of heavy air. He had velvety silver hair like it had been bathed in the untouchable silvery rays of the moon. He turned with his stern amethyst eyes on the other male- it was Zero.

"Fuck you." Zero mutters under his breath, turning and leaning similarly against the door, as the others smirk widened.

"Why Zero, I thought you would never ask. Is tonight okay?" The man innocently looks, his smirk turning into a jovial grin towards Zero who bared his teeth like a ferocious lion displaying it's shelve of knives with pride.

"Bite me. When do you think Yagari will notice?" The other man tilted his watch nearer to Zero's vision to show him the time.

"Yagari will enter his room with his guest at exactly ten forty-four. We finished putting up the pictures in his room at ten twenty-two. It took us exactly six minutes and twenty-nine seconds to reach the office. We have talked for two minutes so we need to wait for twelve and a half for a reaction. And I'm never wrong am I?" Zero look up, eyes glimmering mischievously, his lips quivering with thrill coursing through his veins.

"Nope," Yuuki and everyone else- except of course the chairman- blinked rapidly trying to regain their posture. 'Did Zero just admit that guy is never wrong?! What is going on with the world?' was the general thought clogging up all the vampires brains. A feat in itself.

"Zero! What have you done now?" The chairman asked with a light scolding tone in voice, even if he had come out to be bubbling with excitement, but he couldn't hide the curiosity in his voice. Zero had opened his mouth to answer but seeing the others he lost his voice momentarily.

"I didn't know we had guests?" Everyone jolted out their trance as Zero pointed out their presence. He made his way to side beside the chairman only to have his 'friend' elegantly take his place beside him. His right leg over his left to cross protectively in front of Zero's legs. His left arm audaciously hung lazily on the head rest of the couch so the nape of Zero's neck could feel the reassuring heat from his arm eat away at Zero's worries. Only this man had heard the uneasiness in his voice when he addressed the guests.

"So Chairman, what band of idiots have you pulled together?" The mystery man questioned. Ruka let out a low growl as a warning but it seemed to have an opposite effect on the man as his clicked his tongue and widened his smirk- quite an imprudent man.

"So these are the vampires which left. Am I correct Zero?" The man had to only turn his head and move forward a few centimeters to get a face full of Zero's disheveled hair- they were sitting close. A little too close for Yuuki's liking. Zero did not turn to answer but locked eyes with Kaname and nodded to answer. Kaname looked up and down discretely to evaluate the changes to Zero. Kaname could remember how tense Zero would get with the simple utter of the word 'vampire' but here his shoulders were relaxed. His skin once an unhealthy ghostly pale now was a well porcelain ivory- like vanilla. A startling discovery was that Zero Kiryu was wearing the Night Dormitory uniform. Yuuki, Akatsuki, and Ruka could only stare but Aido was more open with his shock.

"Kiryu you're in the Night dorm?" The man screamed while pointing accusingly at the man. Zero glared, more sharply than ever before releasing a suffocating aura, Aido could only shiver slightly as stern eyes looked straight through him.

"Someone has to keep this fucker in check." Zero's voice coldly identical to the Zero from their memory as he rudely poked his finger into the chest of the man next to him, who simply pouted at the revelation. They look at the other man to see one a traitorous deep pacific blue orb and other scarlet red eye glinting with menace. His jet black hair swept back was slightly wavy while a lone strand hanging down to frame his face.

"You wound me but then again," His eyes sparking mischievously as Zero's eyes widened with gapping shock, "I have that picture of you buying that 'book'" Zero growled once again proving his bad temper has no bounds as he swung right elbow into the man's stomach. Aido was mentally rooting for Zero to land a punch after all Aido did not like the look in the man's eyes. But within the time, it takes to blink the man's left palm spreads in front of his stomach to catch the assault mid-air.

"You've become soft darling…" The man smirks liking the reaction from Zero who sneers. A sneer void of hostility.

"How have you been Zero?" Yuuki shudders at the snap of Zero's neck but gulps at his judgemental gaze.

"I've been better." Zero replies dryly not bothering to look into her eyes.

"Chairman you did not tell me we had new students in the Night class?" Kaname steered the conversation. Not giving the Chairman time to answer, Zero growled irritated.

"Maybe because some asshole left with his tail between his legs straight after the war without even giving a phone number. I had to deal with the Chairman brawling his fucking eyes out for a month straight." Zero spilled with an actual sneer marring his visage. He turned to Yuuki with a glare.

"And maybe because some girl left him without even saying goodbye to Yori. She left saying the school reminded her of you too much," Zero spat out in disgust not caring about the silent tears spilling out Yuuki's eyes, he stood and pointed his finger accusingly "and she keeps calling me every month wondering if you returned. The Chairman went into depression, not acting like his hyper fucking annoying self because the girl he raised left just because she got new memories about being a princess and shit." Profanity being spewed everywhere one heart was being shanked multiple times with a blunt knife and twisted. The Chairman shook his head and got up from the sofa towards his littered table.

"Why are you here Kuran?" Zero addressed Kaname immediately.

"Zero I think your pushing it too much. If I remember correctly you are in no place to speak like this. You're the one slumbering to a Level-E and Yuuki is the one who gave you blood." Zero smiled and it grew into a full grown laugh as he slapped his knee to try and control his laugh. Akatsuki and Ruka could only watch silently, not wanting to interfere between their leader and Zero, while Aido grimaced.

"I would rather be a Level-E than leave behind my only true family, which stood beside me in my darkest days, because my brother decided to bite me." The man next to Zero shot his hand put and clasped Zero's wrist harshly. A low hiss 'Zero' forced Zero to sit down and look anywhere but at the vampires in the room.

"Mikhail take Zero away." The Chairman pleaded as the man- Mikhail- who had Zero's wrist trapped in his hand stood and dragged Zero behind him to leave.

"No, she expects us to open our arms like we don't have fucking feelings so she can sit on our heads and she will act like she is the victim and cry like a fucking five-year-old." Mikhail pulled harder and got Zero away only for everyone to raise eyebrows at the sudden racket outside the office. There was a slamming of the door, shuffle of feet, a painful stifle of a growl and a loud painful crash.

"Mikhail what the fu-" Then the hall went pin-drop silent. Sniffles from Yuuki attracted everyone as Kaname placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" Aido muttered only for the Chairman to sigh.

"Sounen, Kain please that a seat. This might take a while." Ruka sat next to Akatsuki on the sofa where Mikhail and Zero once sat.

"When you left something happened to Zero- after about two months. He would disappear for days and then returns without a word. He asks for money from his account but when I ask why he wants it he just leaves. Once he had returned and I searched his clothes and found a train ticket. He had gone home where his parents were murdered." Yuuki shuddered.

"He remembers where it was?"

"I can only guess that because you were here he did not leave but when you left him he immediately banded together the things in the house. On one occasion he found his father's journal where there was an entry for Zero and Ichiru specifically."

"Does he still have the journal?" Kaname prodded.

"No, he burnt it." Yuuki looked up in horror. Zero burned something which reminded him of his family? Impossible.

"Why?" Kaname asked seeing as Yuuki had gone into shock. The Chairman's usual merry visage turned grim as he thought back.

"He said something about 'the horrors of humanity' apparently he had an address and that is when I knew he wasn't going to return until a long time," the Chairman scratched his forehead thinking back, "he asked me for money but I tried to make him reconsider and take Yagari with him but he left before Yagari came back from a mission. It had been a year and a half and suddenly he came back. His demeanor calmer than ever before."

"And that man? Mikhail?" Kaname not wanting to leave any stone unturned.

"Zero said he met someone on his journey and was wondering if the man could stay with him. And just like that Zero had taken up a job and brought in money for the school. No matter how much I told Zero I was getting money from Kuran and other families he renovated every classroom and upgraded the Sun dormitory to house more students and now pays the salary for new teachers which teach the Night and Day classes. Where he got these contacts I have no idea. Mikhail and Zero both don't stay for classes much even if they are students." Yuuki breathed out a sigh of relief thinking that nothing bad had happened to Zero.

"I'm guessing you forced him to enter the Night class?" The Chairman chuckled to Kaname's surprise- not that the man showed it as he wore his mask of indifference.

"No, he came to me one day and asked to be transferred to the Night class. The Day class were quite 'distort' but one glare of Zero shut them up. Mikhail is also in the Night class but since he isn't officially registered he doesn't wear the uniform. But he does attend some of the classes."

"But how does Zero know him?" Yuuki couldn't help but ask again.

"I don't know." The Chairman huffed in fatigue. "Why don't you ask him? He'll warm up to you like he Night class has. He takes his Guardian duties seriously and has been guarding the remaining Night class while you were gone and has earned some respect. Just ask him nicely and don't push him, okay?" Yuuki nodded.

"We better get going and get some rest before classes tonight," Akatsuki concluded the meeting. Ruka raising a delicate eyebrow wondered 'Zero? Respected? This I have to see.'

"Kaname-sama at your order…" Kaname nodded and the group bid their farewell to the Chairman who engulfed Yuuki into a warming hug before letting her go.

The group was quiet on their way to the Night dormitories with a lot on their mind but Aido was the one who broke the silence.

"That was weird…" Yuuki agreed with a nod.

"If any of you see Takuma before me send him to my room." As the group reached the clearing in front of the dorm they all stiffened quickly when a loud gunshot echoed through the forest around them.

"Zero!" It was Yagari with his shotgun pointing frantically around seeing that he lost sight of his target.

"Toga are you meant to wave around a gun?" The man sneered in Kaname's direction while pointing the gun at him.

"When someone swaps all the papers in your file with pornography then yes." Behind him, Zero sprinted out the shrubbery while sporting an animalistic grin.

"God help you Zero because I'm going to dash out your brain." Yagari pointed the guns towards Zero's head who froze with his hands up in surrender.

"It wasn't my idea…" Zero pathetically answered but Yagari simply walked to him and nudged the tip of the gun to the back of Zero's head.

"I don't care but if you're here then Mikhail must be close." Yagari sneered lightly but a chuckle through everyone off as Yagari asked what was so funny Zero replied with a ghostly smile playing at his lips.

"You shouldn't turn your back to the enemy Yagari-sempai…" With the sentence finished a swift kick to his back made Yagari fall down in an unconscious heap.

"He went out quickly…" Zero turned and threw the anti-vampire gun into the forest with ease. Not caring but the burns he now donned on his hands.

"Well he was probably just alive because his guest probably gave him a piece of her mind." Mikhail stood hands to his chest and slight crouched from having just kicked the man- a defensive position. Easing out the stature Mikhail nudged the fallen man with his shoe. "Just imagine wanting to discuss something important with your student but when both of you open the file you see pictures of naked women and men. I think the student did quite a number on him." Zero snickered and playfully punched Mikhail's shoulder.

"That's for making me look like an idiot." Zero smiled and looked down at his teacher. "He deserves it. But what did he do wrong again?" Zero asks with puzzle.

"Uhh…" Mikhail wondered. 'They don't have a reason!' Aido snapped in his brain.

"We did it because you can't resist my charm." Wearing an over-confident smirk the man ran his fingers through his hair and winked.

"Mikhail?!" Zero growled while the other man shrugged.

"He purposely kicked you out the class because you were late. Guardian duties remember!" Mikhail answered while looking downwards so no one could read his facial expressions.

"Hey," Zero defiantly pushed his fingers against the others forehead to show Mikhail's puzzled face, "thanks." Zero whispered under his breath. Something only Mikhail should have heard but unfortunately Kaname and Yuuki barely heard. "Come on we got work to do. I heard that Camella spotted a member by the town centre today." Mikhail muttered a quick curse and walked towards the Night class dormitory.

"Suit up we're investigating." Mikhail commanded and ran into the building while Zero nodded and grabbed Yagari's leg and started to drag the man into the building.

"Where are you going Zero?" Yuuki shouted much to Zero's displeasure.

"Unlike you Yuuki I actually have a job to complete and don't have time to waste living secluded on my parent's or brother's money. My job expects me to be on the top of my game. I don't see why you should have a problem." Zero left the group in silence.

"Woah Zero didn't insult anyone. Is that the real Zero, Kaname-sama?" Aido asked Kaname.

"They smell slightly similar…" Kaname replied, not bothering to hide his curiosity from his voice. "Get me Takuma immediately. We need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2

The group entered the dorm and paused. The whole interior had been changed. The once Victorian style wallpaper had been stripped in favor of a simple black and white stripes, the antique floor lamps had all been removed in favor of automatic ceiling lights, the furniture once made of wood or fabric had been swapped for plastic and leather. It was modern heaven. The building which was once dull and packed with furniture catching dust was all removed left the room looking sleek, spacious, and simple. The main focus of everything was function and organization. More windows were added to allow light to filter into the room in a warm hazy yellow. The air felt clearer and the temperature of the room was perfect making Yuuki and everyone strip off their coats.

"What the hell?" Aido breathed out in awe while running around and spinning three-sixty degrees to absorb all the changes made to the building. Akatsuki and Ruka walked up to a few rectangular framed painting of simple scenic views.

"Ah, Kaname-sama!" It was Takuma who ran up to the group with a humble smile and opened his arms to the group. It looks like he just came out the kitchen as he had an apple in his hand and a book in his other.

"Welcome back everyone, Kaname-sama. I heard from Zero that your back. Akatsuki, Ruka, Aido go upstairs and put away the baggage you will find that your room had a brass plate with your name printed on it."

The three nodded and left with everyone's baggage while trying their hardest not be distracted by the changes around them. Takuma pointed to the leather sofas and the three made themselves comfortable. Yuuki taking place next to Kaname while Takuma sat on an opposite sofa to them. Yuuki sank into the sofa and released a sigh while letting herself unwind.

"Takuma do you have anything to tell me?" Kaname asked with seriousness, which made Takuma smile while placing his apple and book down onto the glass coffee table.

"We will explain once everyone has gathered, Kaname-sama. Is there anything else you would like to ask which does not involve everyone?" Kaname raised an eyebrow mentally, something was definitely different about Takuma.

"No, we will wait." Takuma nodded and stood to call everyone. After a few moments, everyone filtered into the main room. Rima and Senri entered with a box of pocky, both munching away at the treat with blank faces. The duo nodded in Kaname's and Yuuki's direction before seating themselves down onto the sofa. Yuuki greeted them with a large smile. Next Akatsuki, Ruka, and Aido came in loudly- mainly Aido and Ruka chatting- about the changes to their room.

"I have air con fitted in my room and the bed is so soft! Whoever changed this is a god. God, I tell you!" Aido exclaimed as Ruka nodded with enthusiasm.

"My wardrobe is a walk in type and there is a phone to connect all the rooms so you can talk to anyone without having to find them. Everything is so simplified now I can find whatever I when without screaming my head off." Aido gulped remembering the times Ruka had blown up with rage because she couldn't find a piece of clothing article. Those were the days where Aido was woken up early in the evening- Ruka waking up earlier to impress Kaname with her beauty- as she rampaged through everyone's rooms to get someone to help her find her missing item. Sometimes something small as earring to something large as a hat was hidden under a mountain of clothes.

"What's so wrong Ruka?" Yuuki asked with much curiosity.

"Our rooms have taken a three-sixty make over Yuuki-sama. You will be happy to see the changes in my opinion." Yuuki nodded and then entered Ruka's and Aido's conversation about the changes. Takuma came in with a small greeting to everyone once again and began the conversation.

"With everyone present let us get sta-" A loud knock on the door would have sent Kaname to obliterate the person on the other side of the door seeing they have had enough interruptions to deal with in a day. But he did nothing as Yuuki's eyes widened in shock.

"Kan there is a human girl on the other side…" Kaname looked at Rima and Senri for an answer but both shrugged and turned their attention to Takuma how was opening the door.

Outside was a girl with an apologetic smile on his face. She wore a formal uniform comprising of: a black open-necked jacket and polished silver buttons engraved with an unknown emblem, her jacket had a belt holding a radio connected to her ear with a wire, a black pleated skirt, a white pressed shirt and a black tie- specifically clip-on. On her shoulder was a black epaulette with a large white arrow pointing downwards divided into three smaller arrows pointing towards block white capitals 'E. S. 12'. On her feet were white knee length socks and jet black polished boots. Her serious watery blue eyes were framed with brunette bangs while her hair was tied in a tight bun while a black beret sat tilted on her head with the same emblem as the one on her buttons, but enlarged.

"Sorry to impose Ichijo-san. I'm here to collect the Inspector and Zero." Takuma smiled warmly and welcomed her inside while receiving a calculated stare from Kaname.

"Kaname-sama this is Emiko Sato. Sato-san this is Kaname Kuran a pureblood vampire." Yuuki opened her mouth in horror as Emiko looked at Kaname with a similar calculating gaze but to her relief Emiko gave a respective smile.

"I see you have returned Kuran-san." Yuuki bit her lip as she could almost imagine Aido's glare at Emiko as she addressed Kaname like a friend.

"And you are?" Kaname asked.

"I am Zero's partner and we work under Inspe-", Emiko paused midsentence and unlatched the radio from her hip and spoken into it after a minute or two of awkward silence, "This is Sergeant Emiko Sato number twelve, one and two, I will be at the crime scene at eleven hundred and thirty." She paused listening for a response.

"Negative. I will acquire Sergeant Kiryuu and Inspector Faust. Roger that." Her voice was concise and non-hesitant as she spoke clearly into the radio. Attaching the radio onto her hip again.

"Apologies. We will have to postpone our formalities. Ichijo-san could you please request Zero and the Inspector to quicken themselves." Takuma nodded in response and disappeared up the stairs while Emiko took out a notepad and jotted down an address and stood up as Zero and Mikhail came hastily down the stairs. Yuuki noticed the unstained white gloves on her hands with a furrow of her eyebrows.

"Sergeant Report," Mikhail commanded with a brief look to Emiko who gave a full salute before beginning. Both the men were dressed similarly. A black open jacket and pristine silver button engraved with the same unknown emblem as Emiko, black trousers with a hidden black belt holding a radio with the earpiece hanging off, a white pressed shirt now becoming creased in haste and a black tie- specifically clip-on. On Zero's shoulder was a black epaulette with a large white arrow pointing downwards divided into three smaller arrows pointing towards block white capitals 'Z. K. 01'. While Mikhail had a same black epaulette but with two mini silver insignias of the mysterious emblem.

"It is quite sickening sir." Emiko shuddered. Mikhail looked with a questioning eyebrow.

"The number of victims in unknown but the crime scene itself is home to an elderly couple who had left for a holiday in the Bahamas. We have crossed checked the ticket number but Kaito has called in the Air Company for camera footage." Emiko paused before speaking again, "But in my opinion I think it was someone else." Zero belted a camera around his shoulder and placed a pair of black shades onto his head so he could easily flick them down and wear them.

"Why do you say?" Emiko looked slightly distraught.

"It could have been a rogue vampire…" Zero looked at her for a better explanation.

"I just can't explain. Right now Kaito is at the Crime scene taping it off limits for everyone and guarding it. The Chief Inspector has called making this case our top priority." Mikhail nodded along with Zero.

"We will have to investigate the member later…" Zero says with a nod and reaching out to straighten Mikhail's tie and flattening the collar out properly- much to Yuuki's annoyance. Mikhail gave a grave look but moved to talk to Emiko while slipping on a pair of white gloves and plugging in his ear piece. Zero turned to Takuma with a playful smile.

"Takuma I'm leaving you in charge if I don't make it back in time for duties," Zero placed his hand on Takuma's shoulder and turned to Rima and Senri, "Rima, Senri you guys can use as much force as much as you want to keep everyone in check." Zero turned back to Takuma and nodded. "I'm counting on you. Don't let me down" With that said Zero made his way to Mikhail and Emiko who were at the door.

Mikhail spoke into his radio loudly. "This is Inspector Faust requesting Doctor Wallstone presence at site 3K45Y. Repeat at site 3K45Y. Roger." The man turned to Zero with a smirk fit for a king, god Zero could melt in Mikhail's arms. But that would mean stroking his ego and Mikhail already had enough of that to drown the whole world in his egotistical nonsense.

"Zero." Rima's cold voice made him turn, "don't make us drag your half dead ass back to the academy like last time." Zero let out a light chuckle as left with his back to them and his hand waving dismissively.

"I'll call you next time…" Zero spoke back and in seconds, the group was gone.

Takuma closed the doors with a stern gaze but steeled himself and turned to the group with an uneasy smile, one which did not reach his eyes, and he quickly finished with the small chat with Yuuki about the 'vacation'.

"Now I'm sure you have many questions for us Kaname-sama." Kaname nodded and moved forward to address everyone.

"I want to know every change that has taken place in this building."

"I can give you the documents with all the information on all the renovations that have taken place in this building. Anything else Kaname-sama?"

"Takuma, what is Zero's job?" Yuuki asked. If the uniform wasn't enough Yuuki needed confirmation as to what Zero was actually doing.

"I can only say he has joined an unknown organization which handles murders and crimes committed by supernatural beings. Vampires, Werewolves, Yokai and anything which the humans have no knowledge about. While you were gone Zero was quite a hero for a period and we are in debt to him, he saved our lives when you were gone. Kaname-sama we will serve you to the end but we also feel that we can't be involved in any order which might harm Zero." Takuma spoke, his face distraught, and Ruka glared at the trio.

"Takuma, Kaname-sama trusts you more than some of us and you speak of such skeptical rubbish. We have all swore fidelity to Kaname-sama and him only, speaking such garbage is blasphemy." Yuuki looked between everyone knowing very well to keep her mouth shut in these matters. To everyone's surprise, Senri stood up and looked at Ruka with a vacant look.

"Kuran-sama left. We choose not to go as an order from Kuran-sama. But we could not contact you and over time this area become very dangerous. We only had Kiryuu-san to thank. Rima, we are leaving." Rima immediately stood up and followed Senri out the room, throwing the others a void look- not affected by Ruka's scowl.

Takuma sighed. "Kaname-sama I thi- no things have changed. I'm sorry. We're sorry. Let me fill you in on what happened. After you left, you must have heard from the Chairman, Zero became a hollow shell. He was still dealing with loss and rarely spoke to anyone. He still held up his duties as a Guardian but he didn't speak, I thought he became mute because of the war.

Later on, a month or so he was trying to find me, to my surprise I thought he still hated my guts- being a vampire-, asking me if I knew Latin. He said he couldn't trust anyone and had me teach him Latin, seeing as I'm the only one in the school to know the language. Then he just disappeared for a year. I, Rima, Senri and the Chairman tried to track him down but the trail went cold after finding out Kiryuu's home was burning down (Yuuki gasped in horror); after a year or so he appeared again with Mikhail by his side.(Kaname narrowed his eyes) A very abnormal man in my opinion. He had brought with him Maria Kurenia to enter the school. Zero told us that he is part of this organization which deals with the supernatural crimes which they could not let humans become aware of. After all, vampires aren't the only ones who blend themselves efficiently into the human majority.

Zero transferred to the Night class with much enthusiasm and took part in pranks with Maria-san and Mikhail-san. They were the 'MMZ' prankers, you didn't know who they would strike next, and it was probably Zero's happiest moment in life- they did everything together. But after a few months vampires were going missing and then one night Maria-san had left to collect something but later never returned. Zero overturned the whole city to find her but we all came to no conclusion. Zero had become attached to her but when she went missing he succumbed to depression once again. A very sorry sight. But after a month or so Mikhail had forced Zero to cheer up by taking him to a raid. Later on, they found Maria dead by an even more brutal organization. It took months before Zero went back to 'normal' but all the while he was tracking down Maria's killer.

Zero trusts me, Rima and Senri, after everything that has happened to him we can't betray him Kaname-sama. It is a request from me, from us." Takuma finished spilling out of his heart. A lone tear escaped his eye as he nervously chuckled and wiped it away.

"Takuma I have no intention of harming Kiryuu. But I need to have a talk with him, about his position in the Night Class since I and Yuuki are here. Yuuki wants to make it up to Kiryuu," Yuuki earnestly nodded after hearing her name while Takuma stared at her with an analytical gaze, "but seeing as he is busy we will have to wait. But first, tell me Takuma all that you know of this organization Kiryuu works for…" It wasn't obviously a request but an order- one Takuma could not refuse to complete.

Zero took place on the driver's wheel, requesting Emiko to let him give the car a spin, his hands gripping the wheel in a fatal grasp. His knuckles white from the force he was suffocating the wheel with. Mikhail sat with his elbow on the window ledge and his temple resting on his closed fist, his eyes narrowed and teeth gritted with his visage contorted into a dirty look. Emiko sat at the back silently tense at the silently deafening journey. Normally these two men would have cracked jokes and involved Emiko into some small chat about work or the news. But her these two men seemed to be a foul mood, and so tense that they could go to the street and arrest anyone innocent and charge them with assault for all they care.

"Who are they?" Mikhail's voice low but steady, underneath this normal façade, was Mikhail with a murderous intention. Zero swiftly took a sharp right turn, much to Emiko's stomachs horror as her breakfast sloshed. Zero glanced to Mikhail and softened immediately.

"There are old acquaintances…" Zero growled out a curse as he jumped a red light.

"Do all old acquaintances look like they want to jump you when they look at you?" Mikhail asked dangerously.

"Ha jump!" Zero let out a snort, "more like kill, those vampires you saw once wanted to us me to look after their Pureblood princess." Zero argued hotly.

"That girl you saw with the brown hair and red eyes, she is their princess. I only knew her because Kain adopted her first and she was on Guardian duties with me. I thought she was a normal human who just knew about vampires with a hero complex. She had a crush on that brown haired guy and tries to help vampires and humans co-exist. Co-exist sure like the students knew they were living with vampires. They think their living with models who want to relive their childhood. Co-exist my ass.

The brown-haired guy after a while he bit her and turns out she was his sister. Someone had sealed her memories- I don't know. She had apparently fallen in love with me and that guy but she left for him. And I forgot about her- sure she was a mother to me. The rest are just their followers.

Mikhail, please stop being an ass and sulking like a child. You know where my loyalties lie." Mikhail looked at Zero who was trying to concentrate on the road but was turning to face Mikhail every five seconds to briefly catch his facial expressions. Zero was desperate, something Emiko rarely heard in his voice. Emiko opened her mouth to support Zero but was cut off by Mikhail.

"Zero you know how I feel when people look at you like that. Do you want me to put a neon sign pointing at you saying in bold 'Mikhail Faust's Property'?" Zero felt a flush creep up collar so he immediately opened a window but Mikhail caught the light pink tinge on Zero's flawless skin. Emiko in the back quickly covered her lips with her hand to stop a scream from escaping. 'Damn it I will never be able to look at them the same!' Emiko hollered in her head feeling the excitement rush through her in violent waves 'I can't wait to tell Kaito, he owes me money'.

"Mikhail, is it my fault how I look? Why blame me? If you see them looking at me like that then just burn their eyes out or punch them! Don't point at me cause I'm…er whatever you call it." Zero shuddered as he felt Mikhail's mischievous eyes scrutinize him. Unconsciously Zero reaches for his collar to try and loose the now constricting collar. Mikhail enjoying how Zero was squirming under his gaze let the topic go and let the atmosphere lighten up.

"What you mean 'hot'?" Zero felt his throat constrict when hearing those sweet words. His stomach erupted into a flurry of butterflies while he nervously licked his lips, feeling the same domineering smirk watching him with amusement.

"We are nearly there sir," Emiko spoke with pity for Zero, taking Mikhail's attention away from Zero.

"Sato when we get to the crime scene I want you and Madison to start taking pictures. Zero when they have finished taking pictures I want you to collect all the evidence I want all of us to gather with the Doctor to discuss the quick a synopsis of what might happen. But you all know how it rolls right so don't waste a second." Zero parked the car absent-mindedly and the trio ran to the house and duck under the official yellow and black sign screaming 'Keep out' with the professional insignia of the Shadow organization.

The Shadow organization was created by the government who came across these supernatural beings. There were meetings after meetings as multiple parties tried to create a system which benefitted every party but still had strict laws which allowed the apprehension of criminals who commit a crime. Be it grievous manslaughter or something petty as vandalism. Any supernatural being can join this organization but one needs to go through grueling training and several psychological examinations to prove your allegiance. Zero had somehow survived under Mikhail's leadership- and Zero will be eternally grateful for that.

"Inspector!" A young man came running to them with an infectious grin spread across his face. In a similar uniform to Zero except his epaulette was bare other than his initials and his number- 'K.M. 14'.

"Kaito Madison at your service again sir!" He saluted whole-heartedly.

"Madison, how was the evaluation?" Mikhail asked encouragingly. Kaito spoke with conviction as he recollected all the events while Mikhail multi-tasked, something he was exceptional at. The Inspector's eyes wandering in every nook and cranny prudently while the group made their way up the stairs to the front of the flat.

Kaito was a short man but somehow still stood tall beside Emiko, who respected his determination, with zealous earthy brown eyes while his golden sandy mane of slightly curly hair was combed messily to the side. His features soft like his heart.

"Thank you for the tips before the exam Captain!" Kaito threw his hand forward and clasped it warmly around Mikhail's hand as he shook the arm frantically. Zero smiled at the gesture but immediately wiped it off when Mikhail turned to him with a quizzical furrow of his eyebrows. Never the less Mikhail patted the boy's arm with a small smile, congratulating him.

"Good to hear your still in the game Madison", Mikhail always calls people using their surname out of habit but that's his way of showing informality- like a teacher addressing his students-, "let's get to work team."

Entering the house one would think that it was a normal couple home. The living room had a sofa, television, photo's framing the walls, a cabinet full of ornaments one would get from frequent trips abroad and odd nick knacks, giving the house the welcoming warm feel. Mikhail pointed to a monochrome framed photo with a youthful lady being hoisted up in her wedding dress by a dashing man in his pressed tux.

"This is the couple then?" Kaito nodded as everyone took a quick glance around.

"Yes. That is Mr. Charles Smith and his wife Mrs. Rosshel Smith. Both moved from England to Japan after having a daughter but then had a son here. Both are currently spending a few months with their daughter but they have told us they had left the house in the capable hands of their son- Leon Smith." Mikhail nodded satisfied with the history.

"Where is the son?" Emiko asked.

"Right now we are trying to track him down and I've asked the neighbors but it turns out he is quite a drunkard. Some say he turns up randomly after wasting money, his parents send him, on alcohol in the local tavern- Dark horse." Kaito explained while flicking through a small notepad he had summoned halfway through his explanation.

"Get Benetini to track this guy if he doesn't turn up by the time we're done. Who called to bring the house to our attention?" Mikhail ordered and asked. Zero and Emiko keeping their ears open but examined the living room.

"Already on it Cap." Kaito went off to flicked open his phone. It was the standard issue given to all cadets seeing as they want to keep organization a secret. All work had to be done on that phone with no exception so the main headquarters can shut down the device if it happens to fall into unsuspecting hands.

"It looks too normal." Zero pointed out. "So there was no struggle between the victim and murderer. They knew each other or he simply knew how to kidnap well." Emiko emerged from the kitchen with a furrow of her trimmed eyebrows as she showed to everyone a medical bottle.

"Does their son need a keratin vitamin pills for healthy skin?" Emiko questioned as Mikhail gave a snort which sent shivers down Zero's spine.

"You think he has a girlfriend?" Emiko evaluated.

"Only one way to find out," Kaito entered their conversation with an easy smile, "I called Antonio (Benetini) and he found Leon's phone number and their currently trying to reach him. He'll call when he's made progress."

"Let's get to the crime scene," Mikhail commanded and Kaito immediately stepped forward to lead.

Kaito guided them up some untouched stairs, dust having clumped around the edges, and to a perfectly innocent door. Turning the door knob, Kaito's hands trembled. Zero froze as the familiar sickening scent of stale blood seeped out of the cracks in the door. Mikhail merely nodded to Kaito who abruptly opened the door.

The room would have been normal if all the furniture hadn't been overturned and abandoned. Shattered glass on the ground glistened innocently in the orange rays of the evening sun which filtered in through the open window. A bright red form fitting dress was strewn carelessly on the floor.

On the bed lay a woman like a marionette she had been crudely cut by the strings from the tree of life. Her face had soft features, much like an angel, her lips dabbed with cherry red lipstick used to curve easily into a smile now where open as a distant memory of the once shrill shriek that it had expelled. Her lively moss eyes once shining full of life now blown wide open that one could simply pluck her eyeballs out to examine the now dull murky color they have become. Her long bright blonde lustrous hair once laid out like sunbeams from her scalp highlighting the beauty she was once now tangled up like a dreary crow's nest. Her skin was obviously well kept and a smooth rosy pale before but now was a sickening gray and littered with skin breaking bite marks and red prints probably from abusively harsh grip.

Her body covered haphazardly with a single sheet. Underneath she was naked as a baby that had just entered the world. Emiko had to look away to contain her late breakfast as a woman herself she felt horror-struck every time she had to encounter such a case.

"You think that…?" Emiko's once firm voice now was reduced to a shuddering mess.

"Let's hope not." Mikhail immediately addressed. "And if it's like that then let's not delay the process of catching the perpetrator by pitying the victim. Madison takes a picture of her face and sent it to Benetini's team to match with missing person's list first then normal files." Kaito instantaneously moved to work. "Zero and Sato get to work with the evidencing. I'll have to wait for Wallstone." The once desolate soon now filled with energy as everyone got down to business. Emiko and Zero joined later by Kaito, started to capture every minuscule detail on their camera.

"Well isn't it the band of Captain Faust and his band of misfits." A slightly portly man entered the room with a bitter smile. His stature short as his head shone reflectively in the light seeing as not a single hair grew on that surface. Dressed in a: charcoal traditional cutaway coat, burgundy vest, black formal dress trousers, white dress shirt with a high collar, silken smooth black puff tie pinned down by a peal tie track, Y-brace suspender underneath all the clothing and black polished lace-up boots. All very apposite for his job status. But Mikhail loved to pull his leg over his attire.

"Speak of the devil! Wallstone not a moment too soon, sir." Mikhail pointed with a teasing smile, his voice now suddenly boastful and posh. The man had revised all the idioms he could come across to make fun of the well-respected man.

"I'm only anticipating the moment you will reach the last straw with Kiryuu. How do you all fare?" The man spoke with a tone full of pride and dignity but light enough for some witty banter. A murmur of polite hello's echoed in the room before the man raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Mikhail spread his arms warmly as if to present the fleeting miracle which lay lifeless on the bed.

"Any guesses on how she reached death's door?" Wallstone asked while striding towards the beginning to the real thriller case.

"My God! Words fail me when seeing such a poignant sight." Mikhail let his smile drop into a neutral thin line as the doctor exclaimed. The doctor tilted the victim's head with a feathery touch and looked at the skull. He glanced behind and called out to Zero.

"Zero, capture this." Zero turned and made his way and saw a dent in her scalp which was bleeding profusely all over the bed and in her hair. But now it had dried over so all the pieces were crumbling off. "You see this Mikey? (Mikhail glared at the old man as Zero stifled a giggle) She was knocked out with a blunt object to the back of the head. She must not have known of the murderer behind her. But the wound is not deep enough to cause her death." Mikhail, who was finished with his glaring at both doctor and Zero, nodded understandingly.

"Cap!" Kaito called out, gaining everyone's attention, waving a black bead studded feminine purse. "I found her driving license." Kaito passed it to Mikhail with a victory grin.

"Good work Madison now get this info to Benetini's team and get them to relay the address of any relatives for the show and tell session." Kaito nodded and left the room. Soon Mikhail started to mingle with everyone. A duo team of simply dressed men entered with an extendable stretcher. They both got to work to get the body transferred to Wallstone's forensic lab back at HQ, under the doctor's watchful eye as he commanded multiple times on how they should be more careful with the body.

"Leaving so soon Wallstone, you wound my team's feelings…" Mikhail pointed out with a hand to his heart to show the all the hurting.

"On the contrary, I think they will be quite happy to find out how the killer massacred this unfortunate girl." The doctor countered without even looking back. The team turned away to look busy, sporting large grins, while Mikhail swerved to see everyone's reaction so he could annoy them even if he saw a twitch of their lips.

"Sir it seems she lived here!" Emiko cried from the while sieving through the wardrobe. "There are maxi-dresses and clothing I'm sure an old couple or Leon won't wear." She turns with a bright pink dress which would have left on wondering why they weren't just naked seeing as you were equally naked in that flimsy thing.

"Seems like someone brought her here under the pretense that they wanted to help her…" Mikhail pointed out cryptically to everyone's shock.

"What do you mean Cap?" Kaito breezed in with the same questioning gaze. Mikhail lifted a box from the floor with first aid equipment scattered around. He picked up a cotton pad drenched in blood.

"Maybe he or she brought Adria, our victim, here in order to make her think she is being 'helped'. Either it turns out the person Adria tried to help her was the murderer or the person helping her fled in order to hide from the real murderer." Zero looked at the pad.

"I'm guessing it's not possible to clean a head wound so well without a second person helping. So Adria was going out, seeing the flashy dress and all, but was then hurt on the head. Someone brought her back to the house to help her but then kills her?" Zero tried to summarize.

"But why try to help her? Why not kill her right away?" Emiko questions with a raise of her eyebrows.

"He or she wanted to know something. They wanted an answer, got it and disposed of the witness to cut loose ends or he (or she) didn't get the answer and killed Adria out of rage." Mikhail answered and handed the pad to Kaito. "We need to get this to the doctor to see if the blood on this pad matches Adria. We will do that on the way to Adria's family's house." Kaito let Mikhail drop the pad into a small plastic bag and he sealed the top. Everyone collected the evidence and started to bag everything important.

Making their way out of the house Kaito made sure all the windows were securely shut and he attached a portable shutter on the door so no one can enter with force.

"I'll drop off this at the doctor's house on my bike. I'll see you later Emiko, Zero, Cap." Kaito saluted playfully and ran off with a bold smile.

"He is really happy to have passed that exam," Emiko commented.

"Uh-uh, that's just him being normal." Emiko snorted in agreement at Zero's comments as they made their way to the car.

Zero sat in the driver's seat and Mikhail took his rightful seat beside him while Emiko recited the home address of Adria's family. Soon they were back onto the road with Mikhail voice guiding them through the town with a watchful eye on his GPS map on his phone and the actual road they were driving on.

"So Sato how is your little sister? Heard, she got into an accident." Emiko groaned in frustration.

"Don't worry Sir. It was just a mild allergic reaction, turns out she is allergic to the animal fat in jelly. Gave everyone a shock but it's fine, nothing life threatening." Mikhail engaged everyone in small chat which let everyone loose after having seen the horrid crime scene. Something else Zero admired the man for that he makes it seem that he is an egoistic person but that is just his way of dealing with other people's emotions.

The drive was long and Mikhail pointed out that they live quite far away from each other but they reached an ordinary house. The front garden was freshly manicured lawn with the different variety of tulips growing around edges. The top windows were open letting the evening breeze enter the house. Mikhail rapped at the door carefully and stepped back, waiting patiently for someone to come out. The door opened after a few clicks of individual locks.

"Yes, how can I help you?" There was a woman in her mid-fifties dressed in a simple flowery dress with a nervous look in her eyes. Her face was slightly wrinkled as it lost the youth it once had.

"Hello, Mrs. Carlson. We are from The Crime Investigation Department (CID), may we come in?" Mikhail flashed her with a poised smile as he showed a metallic badge with the emblem. The emblem was a silver version of the bald eagle with its wings spread open proudly to exhibit a snapshot of an attack on its prey. Connecting the wings was a wreath of a leaves with a gun and sword crossing together in front.

The lady furrowed her eyebrows and stood to the side let her unexpected visitors in.

"Who is it, Maggie?" A man of similar age came in to show a duplicate expression to the woman.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Carlson. We are from The Crime Investigation Department (CID). I would like to have a word about your daughter-Adria." The woman immediately exploded into fury. Her nose flared with anger and hand waving around like a maniac.

"You think that my daughter has done something. How dare yo-", Mikhail expertly placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and shook his head.

"No Mam it's quite the opposite." The woman still had her mouth open but her eyebrows furrowed in confused. Her eyes widened as Mikhail's words dawned on her. Her knees gave in as her husband and Mikhail guided her to the living room and to the sofa.

"Are you saying Ria is de…dea…" The husband hushed her and he hugged her profusely trying his best to calm her unsettled nerves.

"As much as this is unsettling I would like to ask you this is your daughter?" Emiko shuffled to the man and woman to show a close-up photo of the victim on her issued phone. A dying sob from the woman and a distressed shudder from the man confirmed it. Emiko muttered a 'sorry' before retracting and letting Mikhail handle the mess.

"As much as you have the right to mourn your loss please let question you for a minute so we can catch the murderer." The father nodded but led the woman to the kitchen where he left her own devices to calm her nerves.

"Yes, how can I assist?" The man took a seat as looked at Mikhail with tired eyes.

"Living far away you must contact your daughter quite frequently?"

"Yes, she is our only child. We call her every odd day but are always looking out for when she will call us. She is a strong-minded girl saying she wanted to move out and make a living. She apparently found a cheap apartment to rent nearer to her new job placement. She is an assistant manager and works for a plumbing company- Leak Free." Emiko flipped open a pad and started to take notes as Zero took the freedom to glance around and drink in his surroundings. It was crawling towards night outside as all the streetlights lit up the dark streets.

"Has she ever shared anything distressing like threats or blackmail notes?" The man gritted his teeth.

"What are you getting to?" He obviously didn't like Mikhail's tone.

"Someone has hurt your daughter because they wanted something." The man wiped his face as fatigue crept in.

"I don't know…" Mikhail opened his mouth for another question but the mother came in with a guilty expression.

"Ria told me once that there was always someone watching her. She never knew who and never caught anyone but she told me it was scaring her." Zero looked at Emiko to share a look. "I tried to get her to say something but Ria wasn't one to kick a fuss unless she saw something. So she forced me to leave it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" The man muttered helplessly.

"Ria made me promise to stay quiet saying that giving you stress will only make your health worse." The man leaned into his hands. Mikhail asked some mundane questions according to protocol. The CID team having thoroughly shattered this family's happiness left with an apology and professional 'if you remember or find anything contact us' then Mikhail handed them a card with his full name, phone number, company logo and HQ address.

They politely left to see Kaito wave happily at them.

"How did it go, Cap?" He hollers even when on a quiet isolated street.

"Crap." Mikhail summarizes. "Let's go. You guys coming over for dinner?" Everyone expressed excitement as they clambered into the car- except Kaito who followed on his bike- and rode happily back home. Well you can't blame them, seeing someone's death is depressing but becoming depressed themselves will simply slow down the process of catching the one responsible. They have to keep their brain activity high so that they can stay alerted and piece together the muddled puzzle.

It was nearly curfew for the Day class and the Night class must already be in their class. Yuuki and Kaname were awed by the curriculum introduced to the Night Class. Unknown rare languages, history, geography and of course is PSCHE (Personal, Social, Citizenship, and Health Education) which will help any Vampire integrate themselves into any job or community with ease. They were all seated dispersed in their small groups listening to a lecture on Roman history- something Kaname was enjoying if not showing it- but Yuuki half way through the lecture stood quietly and made her way to the window. The lecturer did not bother to question her as he continued without a care.

"Kan he's back." With a watchful eye, he looked at Yuuki's body language and evaluated she was huddled at the window with a smile which rivaled one looking at presents under a Christmas tree. He casually stood behind Yuuki and looked out to see Mikhail and Zero walking side by side. Hands purposely bumping into each other affectionately while Sato and another man walked backward in front of them with a knowing smile plastered permanently on their face. Zero looked annoyed as boldly clasped their fingers together into a strong tangle which would take god knows how long to untangle. Mikhail smirked and pulled on the hand and made Zero crash into him as they playfully shoved each other but still not letting go of their former link.

Below with Zero Mikhail was playfully whispering something straight into Zero's ear. Zero couldn't pin point whatever the subject was but never the less was hypnotized by the husky undertone Mikhail's voice now held.

"Mikhail please…" In front of them, Emiko and Kaito were deeply engaged in a conversation about movies they want to watch. A wearisome topic Zero nor Mikhail had any interest in- but now Zero wished he had.

"Oh baby boy you can't escape this." Zero felt a shiver travel the length of his spine as his skin tingled recalling the past pleasurable past. His body was looking forward to whatever Mikhail's voice was insinuating but Zero's brain was desperately sending signals to his mouth to spit out a cruel insult. But his body was already predicted this and instead pushed Zero to let out an inaudible whimper of want.

"Don't worry baby boy it won't be too long- no need to be sad." Zero cursed himself as his head spouted a string of profanity-screaming and asking how the hell Mikhail could have heard that noiseless whimper.

Emiko and Kaito sat on the sofa as they watched Mikhail drag the half dazed Zero towards the kitchen.

"Kaito you owe me ten pounds." Kaito groaned with a stubborn huff.

"I can't believe their together and here I thought it was just Captain teasing Zero like always. How did you work it out?"

"Call it woman's intuition!" Emiko wiggled her eyebrows with a playful laugh when Kaito pouted at the explanation.

However in the kitchen, Zero was armed with a cutting knife and was slicing some vegetables, peppers and such, for a quick stir fry. In front of him, Mikhail was stripped down to his shirt with the top two buttons undone. In the corner of Zero's eyes, he could see how the shirt clung to the firm muscles and twisted deliciously as the man turned and added spices to the pan heating on the hob. His shirt was folded up so you could see the mesmerizing golden tan skin hot to the touch work its way around the hob adding colored powder and herbs with a confidence of a star chef.

"Baby boy your lip is bleeding…" Mikhail smugly pointed out before turning to show the alluring expanse of fiery hot skin. Zero had been unconsciously biting his lip to try and control his lips from making a sound. Reaching across and leaning forward Zero's breath hitched while he could feel Mikhail's heat coming off in waves to tantalize him into reaching out and touching. Zero's eyes idiotically fluttered close as he held his breath altogether. His lips trembled in anticipation for Mikhail's firmer lips to connect with his twin soft petals. A chuckle erupted from Mikhail only for Zero to open his eyes and see his retreating figure towards the hob and all the cut vegetables missing from in front of Zero.

"Can you hand me a spatula, baby boy?" His voice smoky entered Zero's ears as something in his chest fluttered alive zealously begging to hear a praise from the other man. Without a single thought Zero swiftly waltzed to the cupboard, knowing well that Mikhail's eyes were scrutinizing every sway of Zero's hips, opening the draw quickly he slammed his hip against the drawer and closed it. He could almost feel the millisecond of 'desire' being emitted from Mikhail before he retracted it as quickly as it came out. Zero looked at him only to see him looking disinterested but some of his desire still lingered in the tense of his muscles.

Zero moved to Mikhail's side and gestured the utensil towards him, purposely holding the object by the handle so Mikhail had to touch him to grab it by its handle. Mikhail gazed at Zero with predatory eyes, hungrily sweeping over his body making Zero shiver as he could almost feel the fiery 'touch' of his gaze wash over every inch of his skin.

"Why thank you baby boy…" Mikhail grabbed the handle by the other end completely missing Zero's hand, much to his amusement he watched Zero's eyes flash with anger while his lips curled into a contemplative look. Zero appeared to be plotting someone's death. A very slow and agonizing death that even the Gods would have to stand back and admire no matter how wrong it was.

They both moved to plating, Zero glancing to Mikhail every second which practically made Mikhail scream with happiness in his head but he contained himself. He had to control himself or the end result would not be as passionate or worth-while as he always dreamed it to be. Sure they had done this multiple times, and they could not hide this from Maria, but there were times they would simply just opt for emotional support by 'snuggling'. Both did not want the guilt of their life-long friend, well no matter how short their time together was, looming over them. It just seemed wrong from them to always be happy when their friend died not too long ago. It ruined the mood and made Zero conflicted which normally resulted in a major prank with hundreds affected or Zero doing something which would potentially get him killed. So Mikhail always made the most of the chances he had with Zero without him feeling guilty.

Zero watched Mikhail with tenderness evident in his eyes as the man wiped the dishes and started to plate up his aromatic cuisine. Using the bright colored peppers to highlight the perfectly cooked noodles, oddly the man had his eyebrows furrowed in concentration which seemed to be his most realistic expression Zero has seen him put on which was not a self-centred façade. Zero tried not to blink and waste any time he could be using to imprint that face into his memory. Times like this he just loved to watch as Mikhail's hands worked their magic as he added a little pizazz to the food. Others would simply just pour the end product onto the plate and serve it. But not Mikhail. No! Never. Mikhail essentially made it job to put in all the effort he can put into to make everything enhanced until the very end.

The end result was certainly an eye-pleaser, only a fool would start eating straight away and not appreciate the effort Mikhail had put into his food to make it pleasant to all five senses- or the majority of them.

The duo grabbed two plates each and entered the hall where Kaito and Emiko had pushed the sofas back slightly to instead sit on the floor, lean against the sofas and eat at the coffee table. Both placed the dishes on the table and Mikhail smirked at the round of whistles and admiring smiles he received for this delivery. Kaito bounced to his feet and ran to the table and get each of them cutlery so they could enjoy their meal as quickly as possible.

"God I'm so hungry!" Emiko groaned and Kaito grinned in agreement choosing to stuff his face full of food and cry out at the heat. All entered a light conversation about current news and anything which essentially popped into their mind. Mikhail always invited his team for dinner, depending on the time they finish, to help strengthen bonds and improve trust between the team. 'Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success' is what he always quoted. He started a day with a speech and ended it with a congratulation for surviving to overcome another day.

Mikhail wasn't a sentimental person but he knew at he wanted the best out of others he needed to keep their heads in the games and heart beating pleasantly at the praise but the determination to be awarded rightfully more. At the end of the feast they left the plates on the table and entered a low hum of light banter.

"This morning we pranked Toga!" Zero smugly announced gaining Emiko's and Kaito's attention immediately as he excitedly spoke rapidly to spread the delirium of happiness and pride he was filling out with. Half-way through Mikhail had stretched his head to hang on the sofa and let Zero's head lean in so his neck could touch Mikhail's arm. Emiko watched with a smile as she winked at Mikhail with a knowing smile.

Time trickled on and slowly the team entered a phase where Zero and Kaito had fallen asleep but Mikhail and Emiko talked some politics, much to Zero's annoyance. Zero's head laid on Mikhail's lap and their legs were tangled together under the coffee table. Kaito lay lazily on the floor with his legs hanging on the sofa and his head rolled to the side as he drooled cutely- in Emiko's opinion- on the velvet white carpet.

"Apparently in America they have developed a piece of tech which you can plant on anyone's car without a problem and with a flick of a button you can record it's movements remotely from any point with internet access." Mikhail spoke softly with his fingers tangled in Zero's snow white hair and evenly massaging his scalp, much to Zero's liking as he hummed unconsciously to move and nuzzle Mikhail's leg.

"Yes, I skimmed the article apparently the tracker unlike now days doesn't need internet to contact the main bot. They made the clone bot emit a type of wavelength which the main bot is designed to pick up. You only need the internet to access the information and you can track the car or vehicle to any remote spot within a 30 km radius of the main bot." Emiko cleverly answered. Neither of them will admit it but they did have a better ability to communicate with each other seeing as they have quite similar IQ's but Emiko was a human. Mikhail was just something else altogether.

The double doors opened to reveal the night class in all their glory. Most had un-identifiable expressions marring their face, much to the rests amusement, but the most emotional two- Yuuki and Aidou- were practically screaming as to how interesting the classes are.

"Reduce the noise level will you, can't you see some people sleeping?" Mikhail glared at the two, not that there was any real hostility behind his eyes but his face and eye color just made him seem to intimidate the others. Aidou opened his lips to run his mouth off about pride and how he is royalty but Emiko had better plans. Swiftly taking of Kaito's shoe she threw the projectile at the unsuspecting man.

"Ouch!" Aidou turned to Emiko a piece of his mind only for the woman to raise both her middle fingers to him and with a small smile she uttered.

"Fuck you." With that done Aidou could only stare at the woman.

"Okay, it seems time for us to go. Don't want Kaito to pull a long face when getting back to work." Mikhail nodded and shifted slightly to lean forward and bumps fists with her.

"Don't worry about the case Sato. Just concentrate on getting your full rest so we can concentrate better when the time comes." Mikhail wisely advised. Emiko smiled in appreciation and shook Kaito awake. But he was too deep in sleep to even acknowledge the forceful shoves his body was enduring.

"Captain, a bit of help?" Emiko groaned and asked Mikhail with a knowing smile. Mikhail could only smirk as he opened his mouth and breathed out and in again like he was getting ready.

"Madison were under attack! Pull the trigger man!" Kaito snapped awake and had his hand whip out the gun he tucks in his back waist only to point at the Night Class with a steady gaze. Slowly he started to realize his mistake as the Night Class bared their elongated biting teeth in retaliation. Kaito grumbled with tired eyes and gradually dropped his gun to the side but kept both hands on the gun, in an act to show he was actually contemplating if there was a threat.

"Mikhail stop teasing the poor bastard." Zero cursed under his breath but everyone heard it for all eyes to land on his stretched form.

"Your mean Cap!" Kaito complained actively waving his hands in every possible direction he could point to.

"An act of foul play I'm sure you can forgive me for", Mikhail dismissed and continued, "take the car and drop off the evidence to the lab but keep your bike here. Zero and I will use it for transportation for work tomorrow where you can have it back." Kaito nodded and carefully placed his bike keys on the coffee table and looked at Emiko.

"I'll drive", both spoke forcefully at the same time. Sometimes they were just plain childish in Mikhail's eyes.

"Sato you drive and drop Madison back at HQ." Kaito pouted but went along with the command. He tugged back on his blazer and help out his hand to Emiko.

"After you Milady." Emiko looked at the hand and pondered for a minute. But it all ended when she punched his shoulder and said a quiet bye to Mikhail and Zero. Kaito groaned and rubbed his hurt shoulder and looked at Emiko sauntering away with an arrogant smile playing at her lips.

"What is up with women nowadays, Cap?" Mikhail shrugged with an innocent smile but his knowledgeable eyes conveyed quite the opposite.

"I don't know Madison but if you don't hurry Sato, being with us for longer, might just commit the perfect murder if you don't hurry." Kaito furrowed his eyebrows but then paled at the thought.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Kaito muttered with a worried look and hurried behind Sato. "Wait, Emiko I'm coming don't hurt my baby! That is my only bike!" The man ran after her in a frenzy.

The Night Class parted for the deranged man to run past them to leave in a cloud of dust. The Night Class stared back at the remaining team with peculiar looks.

"Zero let me go," Mikhail asked while stacking up the plates and putting the cutlery away onto one plate.

"No, your surprising quite comfortable." Zero mumbled into his clothing and pulling the taller man into a tighter hug.

"Zero…" Mikhail playfully whined.

"Mikhail, you can't tell me what to do. You're not in charge of me…" Zero copied in a similar tone, mocking the man. But the taller man froze at the counter. Zero's eyes exploded open, much to Yuuki's worry. The man scrambled off Mikhail with his hands up in a surrender as he surprising stumbled over his words.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. Mik-"

"Did you just back-talk me, baby boy?" Mikhail cut in, whispering dangerously while coming to a stand, while Zero backed away nervously. Kaname looked up from his work along with Takuma, the Night class had dispersed when Kaito had left, next to him Yuuki was reading a book, Aidou was scribbling away furiously on a piece of paper, Ruka was reading a magazine while Akatsuki busied himself in throwing a ball into the air and catching it. Everyone had raised their heads in confusion when they heard Zero's whimper at the end of his stuttering.

"No I was…ah", Zero frantically darted his eyes everywhere for an escape or an excuse but Mikhail was quick to corner him against the sofa. Mikhail's chest leaning in closer that Zero had to swallow the lump in his throat as his private space was ruthlessly invaded.

"Seems like you have forgotten your place, baby boy." Mikhail breathed purposely heavily on Zero's sensitive ear to earn him a whimper. Everyone was now sure that the sound was coming from Zero. Yuuki stood to help Zero but Takuma looked at her and shook his head with pleading eyes. Yuuki looked at Kaname for permission to interfere only to be ignored as Kaname opted to watch Zero's reaction.

Zero on the other hand fighting the temptation. Mikhail was practically so close he only needed to move a centimetre to touch him.

"Let's start from the beginning. You should be grateful that I'm letting you off baby boy." Zero looked up with a hope glimmering in his eyes. "Zero what did you do wrong?" Zero gulped heavily as he looked straight into Mikhail's eyes.

"I talked back to you. I'm so-" Zero started but Mikhail immediately cut him down.

"Did I tell you to apologise?" Zero shook his head so hard it would have come off if he hadn't stopped. "It seems like a correction needs to take place. Shame you threw out my good will." Mikhail retracted back and looked at his watched, letting Zero breath more easily, he looked pointedly at Zero only to turn towards the stairs. He made his way out the stairs but called out with an air of superiority.

"I'll be expecting you up in three minutes after all the plates, cutlery and utensils have been washed." Zero groaned and dug his heels into the carpet. "You know what happens when your late or don't finish you work on time, baby boy. Bad things happen." Zero bolted up and grabbed the plates and ran like his life was on the line. Mikhail chuckled and called out with a whistle. "Run baby boy! Run!"

"He is going to kill me! Maria I'm coming up if I don't survive." Zero gushed with horror painted on his face. Takuma stood when he took pity.

"Let me help, Zero." Takuma volunteered but Zero had other ideas.

"No don't! I've already fucked up, if he finds out (he always finds out) you helped I'm screwed a million times over." Zero went on to scrub furiously at all the objects he had dumped into the sink. Lining them up carefully in the drying rack with quiet haste, everyone watched with pity. Kaname turned to Takuma with a questioning eyebrow but the man cleverly entered the kitchen to avoid Kaname altogether.

"Okay done. Fuck why did I even open my trap, stupid Zero." Kaname raised his eyebrow at the sound of Zero talking to himself in third-person. The man furiously wiped his hands on a piece of rag. "I knew it would make him angry, Sif made sure I would have it embedded into my system, but no I just had to go and fuck it up. Now he's going to tease me to death." Zero rushed out and stopped at the stairs and stared at the ceiling.

"Maria, if you can hear me, I'm probably going to be visiting you for a while but I can't stay. Mikhail will hurt himself if I stay permanently but maybe another time. You brought us together right? So promise us to keep it that way." Finishing his monologue the boy rushed up the stairs, most likely to his death.

"Baby boy?" Yuuki questioned, surprisingly that was the only part she had retrained from the whole of Zero's rant. Kaname on the other hand was drumming with concealed anger. Someone else had successfully tamed the only thing he found fun.

"That's Mikhail's nickname for Zero." Takuma answered after coming out the kitchen.

"Takuma I want everything, and anything, on Mikhail Faust on my desk by the end of the week. Now we have a ball to plan." Kaname forced his heart to stable itself and his brain to concentrate on Yuuki. And only Yuuki.

Zero shuffled into the dark room. Mikhail was seated on the only chair in the room. Mikhail patted his lap and Zero ducked his head in embarrassment. Zero took long strides over to Mikhail and seated himself on the warm lap. His muscles relaxed on instinct as they realised it was their contractor's body they were intimately touching. Mikhail propped himself back so Zero had to move himself to touch more but he was not allowed. Zero knows it's tempting but he now knew better than to disobey Mikhail. Sure the taller man loved the odd witty banter and snarky comment but disobedience was punishable by however Mikhail felt it should be handled. And Mikhail doesn't let these things off lightly. Pain was a promise. Pleasure? Not so much.

Mikhail used his finger and twirled them and Zero copied the movement to have his legs dangling off the arm rest while the other was digging onto his back uncomfortably. His weight meant he was off balance and that he would have to wrap his arms around Mikhail's to stop the arm rest becoming imprinted into his soft skin. Mikhail eyes were now boldly recording every crease and curve of his body from his dishevelled hair to his shaking legs.

"Now then, baby boy what have you got to say to me? Being late by a minute and thirty two seconds." Mikhail whispered deeply, his voice becoming heavily accented for the worst. His usual playful voice now deeply drowned in a german diction. Zero had to unconsciously bite the inside of his cheeks as his eyes flicked up to address Mikhail.

"I didn't mean what I said…" Zero choked out, his throat contracting painfully.

"I wonder…" Mikhail thought openly to delicately brush his pointed nail along Zero's white shirt. Zero could feel the ghostly pin point touch through the thin fabric, only to wish there was no barrier between them, and he let out a whimper to try and gain some sympathy from Mikhail.

"Oh baby boy, do you know how much you drive me crazy?" His nail trailed its way out but stopped and he used to two fingers in a walking motion, pressing hotly into Zero skin making him arch into the touch but groan as the hard wood of the arm rest dug into his back. They finally reached their destination at Zero's throat where Mikhail's hand open with fingers spread out now hovered over and ready to assault the expanse of creamy white skin.

"You're like a drug." Mikhail pushed forward and fastened his hand around Zero throat. Naturally Zero's body wanted to retaliate and be free from the impending dread breathing dangerously close to him. However the warmth Mikhail was emitting was slowly intoxicating and coaxing his rational side to calm down and soothes down its doubts with addictive warmth. When Zero became a vampire his body temperature had dropped a couple degrees and now he always craved something warm. With Mikhail next to him it would take godly strength for him to be separated from Mikhail now that he was fully in tune with the other man's loving gestures. Yet deception ran deep in his eyes.

"You don't even know the effect you have on me. I take you once and then I can't think about anything else but taking you again. Do you know how dangerous you are, baby boy?" Zero felt the hand around his neck tighten painfully so he shook his head slowly and kept eye contact with Mikhail to show he was still listening. Heart beating to an erratic beat and head becoming gradually clouded by Mikhail's exhilarating scent.

"You're lucky I'm here to control you or someone else would have taken you multiple times by now." Mikhail growled possessively and gripped Zero's neck into a suffocating grip. There would be hand marks left, Zero knew that, and he couldn't help but be excited by the mere thought about what would entail after this lecture. "But then again would you like to have me take you in front of them? Show them how the heartless Zero Kiryuu is turned into a scrounger, begging for everything, within seconds of mere touching."

The measly thought of being turned into a begging mess turned Zero's attitude a complete one-eighty as his mouth betrayed his rationality by letting out a hoarse moan, Mikhail's hands still mercilessly clamped around his throat.

"Maybe I should just let them watch?" Mikhail propped himself closer to Zero's ear to whisper fiercely into his ear.

"But your mine. No one looks at you like me. No one touches you like me. No one, and I mean no one, loves you like me." Mikhail waited for an answer and all Zero could do was nod as tears graced the corner of his eyes. Mikhail having had enough pushed Zero back harshly and slam his back into the wood harder. Giving no sympathy he immediately got to his feet and let Zero fall off his lap into a limp heap on the cold carpet. Zero coughed and breathed heavily to regain all the oxygen he lost and watched Mikhail's retreating form with blurry eyes. It was all because Yuuki, Aidou and Kaname were staring at him like they wanted to strip down his defences.

At times like this Zero hated himself to the core. He always thinks it's his fault everyone leaves him. His parents left him for a better place, his brother betrayed him only to return with a dying request, Yuuki left because she could not afford to love a lowly level-E. Specifically him. Never the less Zero knew Mikhail was different. Mikhail was a tormented 'man'. He has seen many fall after rising to the very peak of arrogance. He has seen times change in a blink of his eye. Years of not being able to relate to anyone has made him disconnected from others as his personality twisted into something dark and chaotic to the core.

It was the first time he was feeling possessive of something which was not inanimate. Zero was his anchor after he found the man killing himself to become something he wasn't. After Zero faced himself about his predicament he felt something life of his shoulders and the ropes binding his actions loosen for the better. He met Mikhail. The old Mikhail was ruthless, crude and cold-blooded. He cut down anyone who tried to push him around but Mikhail himself was so lost. He didn't know until Zero had asked him up front what Mikhail is actually doing with his life. Zero, used his snarky and cold indifference facade to survive every wave of damage Mikhail tried to cause. With time Mikhail got used to Zero and started to understand this man was actually not afraid to face him head on- even if the idea was the height of foolishness. Mikhail took it on himself to nurture Zero and introduce him to the Shadow Organisation.

But now even Zero found it hard to keep up with the fluctuations in Mikhail's ever changing moods. One moment he wants Zero the next he suspects Zero of disloyalty. But Zero knows how to remedy this situation. He fisted his hands to get ready and steadied his feet with the chair to stagger towards Mikhail's lazy form.

The man had stripped of his shirt and instead lay in a pair of shorts, body spread out with teeth gritted and he was in the phase where he regretted his raging emotions. Zero paused at the bed post and hesitated. Shaking his head his eye's glinted with determination as he slandered to the bed edge and flopped down onto the fleshy mass.

"Bulls-eye." Zero mutter with tiredness seeping out his voice. Mikhail tilted down to see Zero's eyes closed, face soft with a tranquil visage but the red scorching marks adorning his neck twisted something in Mikhail's stomach. He reached out and let his fingers run feathery touches along the man. Zero let out a hiss, involuntarily of course, and moved his head to lay a gently kiss on Mikhail's prominent collarbone.

"Sorry. I know how you felt when they arrived and then I said something stupid." Mikhail snorted but expected Zero to punch him but instead the lithe man returned to placing loving kisses on his collarbone. Mikhail sighed with relief. Sometimes he really worried about Zero becoming too hurt and leaving him. But he knew that Zero feared the same thing. In this room they were just contractor and apprentice. Outside this room was the pressures of society and others expectations threatening to choke them.

"Baby boy, you know how I feel. Just don't do that again or else I don't know how much of my anger I can contain." Mikhail's right hand stayed from its left which were laying on Zero's lower hip to card through Zero's already tousle snow white hair. Zero hummed with approval of Mikhail's ministrations whilst his tense shoulders lowered to relax.

"I know but I'm an asshole sometimes when I'm not paying attention." Mikhail blew warm puffs of air on Zero's now flushed neck, while Zero moved higher to caresses the golden tan skin.

"I swear if you were a God I would worship you until death left me memoryless." Zero hugged Mikhail tightly to absorb his scent and heat.

"And I would collect you, after your death, and return your memories to only have you rule beside me." Mikhail growled, only this time Zero couldn't help but let out a chuckle of pure affection.

"Now sleep." Mikhail commanded.

"Just one kiss." Zero retracted to let his pleading eyes manipulate Mikhail. Mikhail gazed between the bruise on Zero's neck and his soft, moist lips. Only an idiot would say no.

"Well you are all mine baby boy." Mikhail shifted his weight and trapped Zero underneath him. Darting forward he pressed his firmer lips against Zero's smoother petals. Mikhail dominated the gesture by lightly sucking and biting Zero's lips to be rewarded with longing moans to escape from Zero. Mikhail rammed his tongue between Zero's shut lips and pry them open with an obsessive twinkle in his eyes. Zero had his eyes screwed shut as his eyebrows were furrowed with concentration, which always meant Zero was pouring his heart and feeling into the kiss. But this time he allowed Mikhail into his zesty cavern, the lemon from the stir fry still lingered between his teeth, which made Mikhail run his tongue against Zero's teeth like a frantic.

Zero's hands resting along the nape of Mikhail's neck, his fingers stroking the spot much to Mikhail's enjoyment. Mikhail however let his hands venture on boldly as he slipped his hand under Zero's now constricting shirt to outline the valleys and natural curves of Zero's body. His favourite area to attack being the depressions of the pelvis which snapped Zero's eyes wide open as he fluttered them close again to groan at the heated touches Mikhail was applying with the right amount of pressure to make him crave for more. Mikhail smirked against the kiss as he drifted his lips away from Zero's petals down to the crook of Zero's neck which he assaulted with his wet tongue. Zero arched at the searing flesh meandering around to leave a wet trail which soothed his drumming neck, releasing some of the pain.

Slyly Mikhail unbuttoned Zero's shirt to reveal skin which was yet to be conquered and explored by Mikhail. A thin sheen of sweat covered Zero and it gleamed in the moon's silvery rays filtering in through the holes in the curtain behind them. Mikhail paused a moment to admire his endeavour. Zero was sprawled with his visage scrunched up in desire and need of release. His skin was cold to the touch but never the less inviting Mikhail to mark the boy until they scarred so on one would look at his baby boy with unwanted desire. Only Mikhail had the right to covet Zero. And he wasn't going to change that now.

"Look at you baby boy. Your instinctively releasing pheromones which only I can smell," Mikhail swooped down and left his sharp nose take in a deep sniff of Zero's skin, "it wants me to mark you. Take you. Own you." Zero let out unusual noises from his throat, obviously approving Mikhail's ideas.

"Please?" Zero whined roughly with his mouth open to take in sharp breathes of air.

"Oh I don't know baby boy. You only asked for a kiss. I don't pride myself in unwanted results." Zero shook his head in an eccentric stupor to get Mikhail to continue. Zero grumbled angrily at Mikhail's teasing.

"Mikhail please don't leave me…" Zero gazed softly up to see Mikhail's eyes flash with surprise but the man was quick to hide it. The older man shook his head and leaned down to plant a tender kiss on Zero's cold petals.

"Less talk more work." Mikhail whispered into the slow kiss.

The bed sheets now thoroughly creased and both men sprawled in a tangle of limbs together. A duvet was lazily brought up to both their bodies by Mikhail who continued to lay red bite marks on Zero's hand. He especially created an interlocking ring around Zero tattoo on his forearm which read 'All yours'.

"I'm never getting drunk with you again." Zero grumbled but never the less hummed as a haze of warm spread through his chest as the man stared fondly at the cursive black writing as if to flick through past memories. The smell of sex hung in the air as a comfortable reminder. Zero's whole body which was once tense now seemed looser than ever before. Head carefully curled up just under Mikhail's neck Zero nuzzled Mikhail's two mounts which was his collarbone.

"Sleep now we have lots of work tomorrow, baby boy." Zero tried to resist the temptation to snuggle in closer but in his sleep his body decided to wrap its arms around Mikhail's warmer body.

Mikhail lay every still and only let his chest rise and fall to a steady rhythm, this way Zero's wouldn't notice he was still awake. He tilted his head slightly down and smirked whilst Zero's spikey hair brushed gently against his throat. Mikhail, before meeting Zero, was a straight up prat. He never cared for others and all he wanted was to come out at the top. Nonetheless Zero came into his life with a quite the opposite attitude. Zero wanted to be around people who didn't create attachments. All these strings called 'relationships' which bonded and anchored people was hurting Zero to no ends. The pretty boy was given a choice to continue working with Mikhail or try to get comfortable with someone else. But he stuck with Mikhail to the end. And that is why Mikhail feels too possessive of Zero. Zero never asked for a better Mikhail. He never told Mikhail to change his manner- like everyone else. Instead Zero regarded Mikhail's option above anyone else's. Because he knew and could feel that Mikhail understood and was wisest of them all. And Mikhail was quite smitten when Zero confessed this but it was his truth Mikhail was the 'extra' in the extraordinary. Zero thought Mikhail was royalty.

Or was it because Zero loved to piss off Mikhail?

No it was the first one- Mikhail was sure. After being lost in this thoughts for god knows how long Mikhail turns and wraps his arms around Zero pull him closer and drifted off.


End file.
